THE MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM IN THE DAKAR 2018 PRESENTATION TOUR IN BARCELONA

Barcelona was one of the first stop-offs for the Dakar Tour, as details of the Rally Dakar 2018 are revealed. Riders, teams and fans in the Catalan capital turned out in force to see the presentation. Monster Energy Honda Team was present with riders Joan Barreda and Michael Metge.

Marc Coma, the Rally Dakar’s Sporting Director presented the 40th edition of the race, highlighting some of the main features that the rally is set to include. In his introduction, he recognised, ‘The great acceptance that the Dakar has in Spain and particularly in this land.’ There was a large turnout for the presentation from the Dakar riders themselves, with Joan Barreda and Michael Metge in attendance on behalf of the Monster Energy Honda Team.

The 40th edition of the Dakar looks likely to be ‘A special edition for the world’s toughest rally. It will also be the Dakar’s tenth anniversary on South American soil and we expect a very special rally to live up to the occasion.’ The Dakar is due to set off later than usual, on January 6th. ‘We will once again explore Peru and its dunes, cross Bolivia with stages through the mountains and the dunes that we discovered last year, before finishing up in Argentina, with a little tribute to Córdoba, capital of the motor industry in South America,’ stated Coma.

The course, after crossing Peru, arrives in Bolivia where the rest day is scheduled in the capital La Paz. Later, the race heads south on route to Uyuni and crosses into Argentina. The race-finish will be in Córdoba on the 20th January after 14 stages – two more than in the most recent edition. The route will feature three days of ‘looping’ courses, where the stages will start out and finish in the same place: two in Peru and one in Argentina.

Marc Coma also pointed out that near the end of November, the ASO will make the definitive presentation of all the details of the Dakar 2018, when the embarkation of all the vehicles from the French port of Le Havre also takes place.